Bento

Apple’s iWork suite includes apps for wordprocessing, spreadsheet and presentations work, but the missing item in that suite is a database. Bento fills that gap by providing a visually attractive and easy-to-use database application for the iPad. It uses the iPad interface well, allowing you to focus on design and data entry in portrait mode, and then switching into a split-screen landscape mode for browsing records. It’s not very good at sharing info with other databases on desktop computers, but it’s handy for compiling lists of recipes and other info that can just live on the iPad.

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Dropbox

Once you’ve signed up for a Dropbox account you can install Dropbox on any number of computers and mobile devices, and create a central space that allows you to store files and sync them to all your devices via the Internet. Marking a file as a ‘favourite’ will automatically download it onto the iPad so that it’s available even when you’re offline, and there’s also an option for putting files into a public folder that's available to others. You can store up to 2GB of files in your Dropbox for free, or sign up for an account that provides 50GB for $10 (£7) a month.

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